Tag Archive | "St. Francis"

TOWSON, Md. – Sophomore running back Terrance West ran for three scores to set a new Towson touchdown rushing record as the 13th-ranked Tigers handled St. Francis, 46-17, Saturday night in front of a homecoming crowd of 9,828 fans at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.

West, who rushed for 62 yards on just eight carries, now owns the school touchdown rushing record with 34 scores in just 14 career games.

West wasn’t the only star of the game though as senior quarterback Grant Enders completed 14-of-18 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Derrick Joseph piled up 148 yards on a pair of kickoff returns, including a 99-yard touchdown return in the first quarter. It marked the second longest kickoff return in Towson history, just one yard behind David Meggett’s 100-yard touchdown return in 1988.

Towson (2-1) fell behind early as St. Francis (2-2) took advantage of an Enders interception which gave the Red Flash the ball in Tiger territory. Senior running back Keion Wade capped off the short St. Francis drive with a two-yard touchdown scamper to give the Red Flash a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.

The Tigers would respond though with 29 consecutive points, sparked by the Joseph return that tied the game. West scored his first touchdown of the game on a two-yard run at the 8:11 mark of the first quarter and he then broke free on a 25-yard scoring run to put the Tigers up 21-7 with 2:15 remaining in the opening period.

The first West score was set up by a St. Francis fumble which was caused by junior Arnold Farmer and recovered by sophomore Tye Smith. The fumble recovery was the first turnover forced by the Towson defense this season.

Towson capped off its impressive scoring run on a Tom Ryan eight-yard touchdown reception from Enders. The Tigers pulled off a trick play after the Ryan score as junior kicker D.J. Soven took the direct snap on the point-after try and ran it in for a two-point conversion that put the home team up 29-7 at the 8:12 mark of the second quarter.

St. Francis’ Dan Conley scored on a six-yard touchdown run to halt the Towson scoring spurt on the ensuing drive for the Red Flash. However, a 49-yard kickoff return from Joseph set up the record-setting touchdown from West. The sophomore scored his fifth touchdown of the season and 34th of his career on a three-yard dash with 5:47 remaining in the opening half to put the Tigers ahead 36-14.

Towson scored the final touchdown of the half, and game, with just 23 second remaining in the second quarter as Enders found senior wide receiver Gerrard Sheppard for a 23-yard strike to send the Tigers into the intermission with a 43-14 lead.

In a low-scoring second half, each team connected on a field goal. The Tigers attempted just two passing plays in the second half.

Towson outgained St. Francis 441-233 in total yards and scored all four times it reached the red zone.

Senior Jordan Dangerfield and freshman Bryton Barr led the Tigers with eight tackles each, while senior Romale Tucker paced the defense with a pair of sack.

The Tigers will travel to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Louisiana State on Saturday, Sept. 29. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.

TOWSON, Md. – Coming off a 20-17 win over William & Mary in their Colonial Athletic Association opener last week, the No. 13 Towson University football team returns to Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas® Stadium to celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, September 22 by hosting St. Francis (Pa.) University at 7 p.m.

The game will also be aired on the Tigers’ web site, www.TowsonTigers.com with Spiro Morekas and Ron Meehan calling the action. The Tigers’ internet broadcast also features a one-hour pre-game show.

The Tigers, who have a 29-14 record in Homecoming Games, will be hosting St. Francis for Homecoming for the second time. In 1996, Towson celebrated Homecoming with a 54-14 win over the Red Flash.

A member of the Northeast Conference, St. Francis is off to its best start since 2004. After opening the season with a loss at James Madison, St. Francis bounced back with a 39-28 win over Bryant and a 57-23 victory at Morehead State. The Red Flash has already matched last season’s victory total.

Averaging 302 rushing yards per game, St. Francis is sixth in NCAA FCS. Senior Keion Wade leads the St. Francis offense, averaging 104.3 yards per contest. He ran for 243 yards on 27 carries and scored three touchdowns in the win at Morehead State last week.

“St. Francis is a very good football team,” says Towson Coach Rob Ambrose. “They have a big, strong running attack and their team speed is great. On defense, they run a multitude of fronts. We are going to have our hands full on Saturday night.”

The Tigers bounced back from a season-opening loss at Kent State by opening their Colonial Athletic Association title defense with a 20-17 victory over William & Mary. In the win over the Tribe, Towson dominated the time of possession and piled up 422 yards of total offense. Sophomore running back Terrance West (Northwestern H.S./Baltimore, Md.), a pre-season All-American, ran for a season high 153 yards on 27 carries. However, for the first time in 10 games, West did not score a touchdown. In fact, he had scored at least two touchdowns in nine consecutive games, dating back to the Tigers’ 28-3 loss at Maryland on Oct. 1, 2011.

Averaging 92.0 yards per game, West is the second-leading rusher in the CAA. In 13 career games, West has rushed for 1,483 yards and he has scored 31 rushing touchdowns. He is only two rushing TD’s shy of tying the Towson career record of 31 rushing touchdowns, a mark set by Jason Corle, ’00.

Senior quarterback Grant Enders (Old Mill H.S./Millersville, Md.) has thrown for 421 yards and rushed for 86 yards in the Tigers’ first two games of the season. He has completed 42 of 57 passes and ranks second in the CAA with 507 yards of total offense.

The Tigers, who won the 2011 CAA championship and earned a berth in the NCAA FCS playoffs, will be facing St. Francis for the third time. Towson owns a 2-0 series lead.

A third-year starter at defensive end, Beltre enters this week’s game with 201 career tackles. He has made 201 tackles in 36 games. He has eight sacks in his career as well as 32.5 tackles for lost yardage.

A two-year captain, Dangerfield is a third-year starter at free safety. In 23 career games for Towson, he has also made 201 tackles.

After turning the ball over six times in a season-opening loss at Kent State, Towson did a much better job securing the football in its win over William & Mary. The Tigers had no turnovers against the Tribe although they did fumble twice. But, the Tigers recovered both fumbles.

Although the Tigers beat William & Mary by only three points, they dominated the game statistically. Towson had the ball for 35:52
while the Tigers had 422 total yards and allowed only 258 yards.

In their first two games, Towson has outgained its opponents, 753 yards to 525 yards.

TIGER TALES: Saturday’s game is the second of three non-conference games on the Tigers’ schedule … Towson plays its final non-conference game of the season at Louisiana State next week.

When Towson rushed for 247 yards against William & Mary, it marked the 10th time in the last 13 games that the Tigers had more than 200 rushing yards in a game … In 2011, the Tigers ran for more than 200 yards in nine games … They averaged 229.0 rushing yards per game, a mark that led the CAA.

The Tigers’ win over William & Mary was their eighth victory in their last nine CAA games.

After Saturday’s game against St. Francis, the Tigers will play their next two games on the road … On Saturday, Sept. 29, Towson visits Louisiana State in a game that will be televised on ESPNU … On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Tigers face James Madison University on the road, a game that will be aired on the NBCSportsNetwork.

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